Editing 1522: Astronomy

{{comic
| number    = 1522
| date      = May 8, 2015
| title     = Astronomy
| image     = astronomy.png
| titletext = Astrobiology is held back by the fact that we're all too nervous to try to balance on the ladder while holding an expensive microscope.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Clarify the optical principles re focal length, magnification etc (see discussion).}}

For many ordinary objects, one can achieve a better view in two ways: (#1) by looking at the object from a distance through a {{w|telescope}} as is the typical method in "'''{{w|Astronomy}}'''", or (#2) by approaching the object and looking at it through a {{w|microscope}} as is the typical method in {{w|biology}}. (A {{w|magnifying glass}} is a simple type of microscope.)  Microscopes and magnifying glasses typically have very short {{w|Optical resolution|resolving distances}}, anywhere between a few millimeters to a tenth of a meter, so approach #2 is effective only in the case where you can get very close to the object in question (as in biology).

In the comic, the objects being viewed by Megan could be {{w|stars}}, {{w|galaxies}} and the {{w|planets}} of our {{w|Solar System}}.  [[Megan]] takes approach #1, looking at them through a telescope.  [[Beret Guy]] attempts approach #2, using a step-ladder to get close to the stars, and then looking at them through his simple hand-held magnifying glass.  This approach could be successful only if the stars were a few meters away, so that the ladder would take him within a few centimeters of the study object. In fact the visible stars are several {{w|light years}} away (typically 18-20 orders of magnitude further away) and getting two meters up on a ladder won't make any difference. 

Usually, however, Beret Guy has unusually [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]], so it's quite possible that his method would yield similar or even better results than Megan's approach. (see for instance [[1490: Atoms]].)  Given his naivety, it's also possible he just doesn't realize they should look any different. His naivety of astronomy is demonstrated in [[811: Starlight]]. 

Beret guy's strategy of surpassing Megan by using a step-ladder, can also be seen as a metaphor for the mistakes that startup founders often make. They think they have discovered a novel idea that will disrupt the entire industry and allow them to surpass existing market leaders. But in reality, their "novel idea" is only incremental at best, has an insignificant effect, and can even be a step backwards in that it hinders other more important innovations (larger, heavier telescopes are harder to balance on ladders).

The history of astronomy is filled with drastic misunderstanding of distances to celestial bodies, even up to the present day (a topic Randall has already covered in [[1342: Ancient Stars]].) Thus, the comic could be in reference to the general overestimation of distances, albeit taken to the opposite extreme.

Alternatively, the comic could also be a reference to the fact that space-based telescopes are much smaller than ground-based telescopes: for example, the primary mirrors of the {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}} are 2.4 m vs. the earth based {{w|W. M. Keck Observatory}} with mirrors of 10 m.

The title text assumes (for comic effect) that the only thing wrong with Beret Guy's strategy is the instability of the ladder endangering the expensive microscopes used by biologists for {{w|Astrobiology}}. Astrobiology is the study of life (or the possibility thereof) elsewhere in the universe, and here it would be either the planets and moons in our Solar System or {{w|exoplanets}} they needed to look at. This is the second comic related to studying exoplanets in two weeks, the first being [[1517: Spectroscopy]] (see more references there). 

Since we cannot go there, they do, of course, not use any microscopes in the direct studies. However, one typical magnifier in biology is the {{w|electron microscope}}, used to study {{w|microbiology}}, and they cost a lot and are very heavy. They are therefore implausible to carry up a ladder and it could possibly become very expensive if you did try it anyway.

It might be interesting to note that a lot of developments in "terrestrial" biology (called biology here on Earth), were made by the use of a simple microscope (similar to a magnifying lens), so Beret Guy's approach might be an attempt to build on that.

==Transcript==

:[In front of a starry black sky, Megan looks at the stars through a telescope about twice her size, touching it at the base. She remains in the exact same position through all four panels.]

:[Beret Guy enters the panel holding a ladder and a magnifying glass]

:[Beret Guy places the ladder next to Megan and her telescope. The ladder is stands like a triangle, is slightly larger than Megan, but smaller than the telescope]

:[Beret guy climbs to the top of the ladder, and looks at the stars through a magnifying glass]

{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Biology]]